Wild Wild East: A Flavor Frontier in Every Jar

If you’ve been to Fun Kost, you’ve probably seen them sitting proudly on the shelf - bottles of hot sauce, jars of pickled things, mysterious spice blends, candies with attitude. These are the handcrafted products of Wild Wild East, our in-house line of sauces, snacks, and condiments. And like everything we do, they come with a story.

From Mason Jars to Wecks Gläser

Wild Wild East was born out of deep admiration—for food traditions passed down through the hands of grandmothers. In the U.S., I grew up watching country grandmas boiling, sealing, and labeling jars of tomatoes, peaches, green beans, and apple butter. Big hair, bigger gardens, and pantries that smelled like vinegar and spice. Preserving food wasn’t a trend—it was survival, generosity, and love in a jar. When I moved to Germany, I saw that same spirit—just with a different accent. East German Omas were fermenting cabbage, pickling cucumbers, growing it all in their Schrebergärten. It was familiar and new all at once.

That’s when the idea hit me:
This isn’t Wild Wild West. This is Wild Wild East.

The same hands-in-the-dirt culture, the same devotion to flavor and function—but on another side of the map. Where Hot Sauce Meets Herbal Lore Wild Wild East lives at the crossroads of Southwest spice and Central European roots. We make:
Hot sauces and salsas with New Mexican flair—roasted chiles, garlic, vinegar, and guts.
Pickles and fire cider that channel folk wisdom and sinus-clearing goodness.
Foraged herb blends and snack mixes inspired by the forest floor and the snack aisle.
Weird, wonderful sweets like our peanut brittle, because we believe candy should be as bold as your taste buds. Some of our recipes are old—whispers from ancestors who knew the power of a clean jar and a spice rack. Some are completely improvised, invented out of what we found in the garden or what was on sale in bulk.
But all of it is made with care. With intention. With the belief that food should taste alive.

The Schrebergarten & the Ranch
At first glance, a New Mexican ranch and a Leipzig Schrebergarten seem like total opposites. But if you look closer, you’ll see the same things:
-Weathered hands digging in the soil
-Families gathering around homemade food
-Neighbors sharing preserves, seeds, advice
-A respect for the land and the cycles of flavor
Wild Wild East is our way of celebrating that overlap—honoring both the adobe and the allotment, the chile and the kraut, the boot and the Birkenstock.

More Than a Label
For us, Wild Wild East isn’t just a name—it’s a way of seasoning life. A little wild. A little wise. Bold in flavor, rooted in tradition, and curious about what happens when cultures collide in the best way. Come try a spoonful. Or a snack. Or a sauce that kicks your taste buds straight to the borderlands. You can find Wild Wild East products at Fun Kost on our shelves, and soon (hopefully!) online.

Because everyone deserves a little wild in their kitchen.